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Weight Loss and Dresses

charcoalandblushcharcoalandblush member
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in Getting in Shape
I'm trying to lose about 20-25 lbs before my wedding in 10 months. My fiancé and I have hired a personal trainer, and she thinks that 25 lbs is a realistic goal. My main concern right now is dress shopping while I'm losing weight. I'm very short, so a few pounds makes a big difference as far as my dress size. 

I'd ideally like to buy my dress in December or January. Unfortunately, by then I only expect to have lost about 10-15 lbs. I'm worried if I buy a dress then and it's too big when I actually get it, it won't look right because it'll have to be altered too much. Or that I'll lose weight AFTER I get it altered and there's nothing I can do about it. I definitely don't want to order a size down unless I'm VERY close to that size - I'd be too worried that I wouldn't actually lose the weight and the dress wouldn't fit.

Has anyone experienced this? How did you deal with it?

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Re: Weight Loss and Dresses

  • twojunebridestwojunebrides member
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    I've got some of the same concerns for my wedding dress situation...I want to loose about 40 more pounds before June.  But I keep thinking about a bridesmaid dress a few years ago.

    I had just started loosing weight when the bride wanted us to go in and purchase them.  It was at david's bridal, so I was able to try on the style of the dress in any size.  I tried it on in 2 sizes.  One of them fit fine, but it was still 6 months until the wedding.  So, I decided to order the smaller one.  I could almost zip it up the day I ordered it. 

     I brought it in to be altered a month before the wedding, and it was pretty big on me! I had it taken in almost a whole size.  The whole ordeal worked out pretty well.  I had lost almost 40 pounds altogether but I'm probably bigger than you are.

    Anyway... I'm going to do the same thing with my wedding dress.  The seamstress I'll be using has no problem working on a deadline, so I'll get it altered about 3-4 weeks before the big day!  


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  • Maggie0829Maggie0829 member
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    When you buy your wedding dress you should buy it the size you are at that exact moment.  Yes, you may want to lose 25 pounds but you never know what may happen and that goal may not be reached (what if you break a leg or sprain your ankle and you can no longer work out?)

    Seamstresses are amazing people.  They can do truly amazing things with dresses including altering a too big dress so that it fits you.  Also you should not get your dress altered too early.  You should go for your first alteration about 2 months out from your wedding date and then you should have about 3 fittings during those 2 months.  Also, once you have your final fitting you should take efforts to not lose anymore weight.  But if you are really concerned you could always make an appointment with your seamstress the week prior just to make sure that all is good to go.

    So good luck with your weight loss but just know that no matter how much you lose you will look great on your wedding day :)

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  • charcoalandblushcharcoalandblush member
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    twojunebrides - I had a similar situation before, but it didn't go quite as well for me :( I bought my bridesmaids dress when I was much heavier, and by the time it arrived (about a month before the wedding) I was down 20 lbs/2 full sizes. I went to a seamstress who said that altering it would be no problem, but when I got it back, it looked AWFUL on. The shape was all wrong and, although I guess technically it did fit on my body, it really looked horrible.

    I've since heard from many people (and read a couple of places) that if you go up or down more than 2 sizes, the pattern and shape of the dress is actually different. A size 12 wedding gown isn't just a size 4 with the proportions blown up - it's actually a completely different shape. It makes it very difficult to alter if you need to change more than a size either way.

    I'm going to try to wait as long as possible to order my dress so it's close to the right size, but it took my fiancé's sister (who is getting married in January) 10 months for her dress to come in after she ordered it. I'm worried since my wedding is barely 10 months away right now. :(

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  • klk111415klk111415 member
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    I just bought my wedding dress and it fits *almost* perfectly.  I did have this problem with my bridesmaid dress.  I went to the store and the woman took my measurements and said I was a size 14.  I told her a had already lost 5-10lbs and that by the way my weight loss was going I would be much smaller by the wedding.  She said "what if you don't lose the weight?" And I agreed to get the size 14.  When it arrived 5 months later, I tried it on and it fell down.  In the 5 months I went from a 14 to an 8.  

    I would consider a corset back for your dress.  Some dresses you can even have this put in after you get the dress to replace a standard zipper.  

    I think a good amount of your weightloss will come in the first few months.  Keep track of your measurements from start to finish (esp the measurements that will determine your dress size) You will see where the weight is coming off and where you are having trouble.  

    Don't size down just because you think you will be smaller, it's harder to take out a dress than take it in.   
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  • ddoaneddoane member
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    Anyone waiting for weight loss to order?  I am on the fence with ordering, I have 10 months and the dress shop said 4-5 months to make it.  I want to lose 25 more pounds before I order but the shop keeps telling me they can take the dress in and to order it. I understand that it will need alterations but I really dont want to have to have the whole dress taken in.  So I am thinking of waiting to order my dress until late February - I am getting married Sept 26th 2015.

    Thoughts?  Suggestions?
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  • lovemyrunnerlovemyrunner member
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    I'm getting married on August 29, 2015 and I'm not planning to buy my dress until February at the earliest.  I have roughly 45 pounds I'd like to lose.  Last time I lost that amount of weight it resulted going from a size 14/16 to a size 8/10.  It's my understanding that altering a dress by that much is very difficult if not impossible and will change the shape of the dress.  My solution is to wait as long as possible, buy off the rack and look for a lace up style back.  I'm pretty busty, so I'm hoping the lace up back will help me to work around that issue.
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  • redheadbride15redheadbride15 member
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    I have two pieces of advice: First, remember that dresses can always be taken in, but usually cannot be let out. Second, be sure to find a really good seamstress and leave extra wiggle room in your budget for alterations.

    I recently purchased my dress for a May wedding and measured in between 2 sizes. The sample I tried on (which was the smaller of the two sizes) fit me perfectly, like a glove. I also have a weight loss goal of about 10lb by the wedding. However, I still ordered the larger size because I was worried that the sample I tried on may not have been true to size, or may have stretched from people trying it on. Put together, I anticipate the dress will be enormous on me at my first fitting, but this was a risk I was willing to take because it is far better than the alternative (having a dress that is too small and cannot be let out and me freaking out and starving myself before the wedding so I can squeeze into it! Nightmare!).
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  • BreMRBreMR member
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    I think it also depends on the dress.  I tried on my dress in September and I've already lost 10 pounds since.  I told the girls at the dress shop that I was at my heaviest weight and hoped to lose 20 pounds. They told me that the way my dress was made it an easier dress to take in, so buying a larger size was a safe bet.  
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  • lyss2012lyss2012 member
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    When we got married, I bought my dress in January, started losing weight in February and we were married in July. I had lost 20lbs by the time we got married. I fit the same size dress, just fit it better with less back chub ;)

    Here's a pic at the beginning, at the wedding and then at the lowest point I got to that time.
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  • plainjane0415plainjane0415 member
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    Maggie0829 said:
    When you buy your wedding dress you should buy it the size you are at that exact moment.  Yes, you may want to lose 25 pounds but you never know what may happen and that goal may not be reached (what if you break a leg or sprain your ankle and you can no longer work out?)

    Seamstresses are amazing people.  They can do truly amazing things with dresses including altering a too big dress so that it fits you.  Also you should not get your dress altered too early.  You should go for your first alteration about 2 months out from your wedding date and then you should have about 3 fittings during those 2 months.  Also, once you have your final fitting you should take efforts to not lose anymore weight.  But if you are really concerned you could always make an appointment with your seamstress the week prior just to make sure that all is good to go.

    So good luck with your weight loss but just know that no matter how much you lose you will look great on your wedding day :)

    This is the best advice I've found on this subject.  I'm getting married in April, and I will have my first fitting on March 7th.  I'm currently really watching what I eat to get some pounds off before I have my first fitting. Then after the last fitting I will try to maintain my weight until wedding time.  Great advice @maggie0829!
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